Ready Or Not, Here Comes Adrian Younge

The name Adrian Younge may be unfamiliar to many people, but in record circles, underground movies and cartoons, and the West Coast music scene, his name well known. Producer, artist, DJ, and studio whiz, Young has been responsible for the score to the highly praised Black Dynamite movie and cartoon, a future collaboration with Ghostface Killah, and various releases (Venice Dawn, Something About April) associated with the Wax Poetics label. He is a self taught musician and studio engineer who has a penchant for 60’s and 70’s Soul music, and is another example of an artist/ producer who didn’t want to be stuck tied to his MPC. The solution was to actually learn the instruments and combine that producer’s ear with live music. The results speak for themselves. His latest project is a collaboration with William Hart of the Delfonics. The two have teamed up to release Adrian Younge presents the Delfonics “Stop and Look (And You Have Found Love)” featuring William Hart. The video is a throwback to 90’s Hip Hop culture (also with a nod to the bands that sampled the Delfonics) combined with the buttery vocals of Hart and musical stylings of Younge. It indeed hits the musical spot. For older Hip Hop heads like me, the attention to detail in the video is second to none. For someone who was an outsider (but well aware of the fashion revolution going on around me growing up) to the ‘Lo posses in the Golden Age of Hip Hop, this video , not to mention the superb music it features (those drums!), warms my heart. I can remember being a young buck, with a high top fade (as only a descendent of UK ancestors can, quite comical when I think back to it) and the crews of cats (especially in college) that were rocking Nautica, Polo, Hilfiger, Starter and the like. I went as far as Champion and Starter, but the research and period Younge helps capture is dead on for that time. Check out the video below: